


Pains and Preparations

by KaeCooks



Series: Plans and Promises [6]
Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:14:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25311433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaeCooks/pseuds/KaeCooks
Summary: A series of scenes throughout the Casett and Stellaride pregnancies - divided up by the date between sections.
Relationships: Stella Kidd/Kelly Severide, Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Series: Plans and Promises [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1832578
Kudos: 22





	Pains and Preparations

07-08 March 2022

The first shift after the Casey wedding, Severide sat in his office, doing paperwork. He was glad to have an excuse to not be in the common room today. Brett and Casey had taken a week off to finish unpacking, since they'd been living out of boxes for close to a month. The two couples had only moved into the townhouses two weeks ago, but they'd both gotten packed over the course of the month prior to the move, and inevitably had packed some items they still needed. With the wedding preparations, the newlyweds simply hadn't had time to really settle in. 

Rafferty had come in to cover Brett, so Foster should be having a good day, albeit rather busy to this point, and Captain Eric Jayne from third shift was in for Casey. He was a great guy. He'd been with the CFD for 35 years and had his sights set on a battalion chief position someday. Then there was the new guy, Jacobsen, a floater barely out of his candidacy who was covering Stella, who - now at 21 weeks - was no longer allowed on active duty. Maybe he was an okay guy, but the fact that he wasn't Stella had Kelly a little more than annoyed. He was a constant reminder that, for the next 6 months, counting her maternity leave, Stella could only work at Molly's. Kelly was glad Stella was off active duty so they could keep their unborn daughter safe, but he was really going to miss her being right there after a rough call.

He glanced at the clock. It would be time for supper soon - assuming they didn't ret called out again. They'd had back to back calls this morning, then only a break long enough to scrub down their gear before a call that lasted through lunch into early afternoon. He groaned and went back to his paperwork. He really should have just taken this week off with his friends. Work sucked without them.  
__________

Stella was already awake, scrolling through her phone when he got home the next morning. She looked up when he walked through the door. 

He stripped off his jacket and kicked off his boots, putting them in their rightful spots before walking over to his wife and planting a kiss on her forehead. 

“How was work?” 

“It’s gonna be a long six months without you there.” He sat down beside her. “How was your night?”

“Uneventful. Matt and Sylvie had me over for lunch. I worked Molly’s last night, then woke up early this morning. I’m only just starting to get the baby bump and I have to pee all the time. I’m afraid of how bad it’s going to get in the next few months.”

He shrugged. This was his first time having a pregnant partner. “Has she been moving around at all?” 

Stella nodded. “A little bit.” 

Kelly leaned down and kissed her stomach. “Hi Baby Girl,” he said, then looking back to his wife, “Do you think she can hear us?”

“Dr. Cameron says she should be able to. It’s amazing how much Baby Girl can do in there.”

He smiled at her, placing a hand on her abdomen and rubbing his thumb back and forth.

“Kelly?” she asked after a beat.

“Yeah?”

“Should we start talking about names?”

“Sure,” he replied. “Did you have any in mind?”

She shook her head. “Nothing that really sticks out. I hadn’t really started looking. I really only know what I wouldn’t name her based off of really nasty people.”

He raised his brows. 

“You know, like if she were a boy, we probably wouldn’t be naming her after Gorsch.”

He chuckled. Gorsch would never be missed among the members at 51. Deciding to press his luck, he started to ask carefully, “How would you feel - and feel free to say no -” 

“Anna?” she cut him off, assuming that’s where he was going with that question.

“Shay,” he corrected.

Well, she thought, that’s better than an old girlfriend. “Shay Severide,” she said, trying it out, “I like the idea. I’m not sure I like how that sounds.”

“No,” he agreed.

“Shaylyn, maybe?”

He shook his head. “Wouldn’t that still get shortened to ‘Shay’?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” she groaned, shifting to stand. “I gotta use the restroom. We’ll talk more on this when I come back.”

While she was gone, he grabbed a pen, a piece of paper, and his tablet and searched for a baby name website. He found a list of the top 1000 names for baby girls and began scrolling through from the bottom up, immediately discounting names of or names close to people they already knew. When Stella came back, he had only gotten from 1000 to 950, so he just went back down to the bottom. 

She rested her head on his shoulder, looking at the screen. “Got enough to choose from there?”

“Gotta start somewhere.” He shrugged lightly. “If you see one you like, I have a paper. We can write it down.”

Stella nodded and started scrolling slowly. “What even are some of these? Like why would you name your child ‘Heavenly?’”

“Or Phoenix?”

“Margo isn’t bad, but Margo Severide -” she lifted her head and the two shared a look of mild disgust. Finding three names that went together well was going to be a challenge.

“Kaelyn?” he asked.

She tried it out in her head, thinking about it for a minute. “Write it down. We can always cross it out later.”

He nodded and scribbled it on the paper.

“Hadleigh?” she asked.

“Oh hell, no,” he replied quickly.

“What? I thought it was cute,” she pouted.

“Two words for you,” he said, looking her dead in the eye. “Arsonist. Firefighter.”

“Before my time?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, well that’s out. Lillianna?”

He shook his head. “Too long. And too close to other people we knew. Celia?”

She scrunched up her nose. “Like the tiny little hairs that catch the dirt when you breathe?”

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Who knew selecting a name would be so much work? He’d have to warn Casey to get a jump on it.

When they got to 500, their eyes were tired and they were getting hungry. There were about 10 names written down, but nothing that they were absolutely loving. They decided to take a break from it. They’d come back for the other 500 another time.  
_____________

11-12 March 2022 

Shift got off to a crazy start for Brett and Foster. They’d had back to back calls to start their shift and barely had time to finish gassing up the ambo before getting called off to a man in distress.

A woman waved them over when they pulled up. “The couple who lives above me has been fighting a lot lately.” She gestured at the fourth story of the apartment building. “But I heard a lot of yelling, then a loud crash and the man screamed. It just didn’t feel right, so I called you guys.” She let them into the building. 

The paramedics thanked her, running upstairs. They could hear her muffled voice echoing down the halls.

Sylvie rapped on the door when they got to the apartment. “Fire Department,” she called. 

There wasn’t an answer, but they could hear the woman fuming inside. 

Sylvie and Emily shared a look. Was this enough for them to go in? 

“Foster,” Sylvie asked, “do you smell that?” 

She sniffed. “Gas.” 

“Good enough for me,” Sylvie stated, trying the door. Finding it locked, she kicked it in. 

The paramedics entered, scanning the apartment. A man groaned, and they quickly made their way to the back bedroom where it had come from, glancing over their shoulders toward the room where they could still hear the woman slamming through drawers, cussing up a storm about how he cheated on her. 

In the bedroom, the smell of gas was overwhelming, and much of the floor was wet. The man was laying on the ground, surrounded by smashed glass and various other items that appeared to have been thrown around. A large gash stretched across his face.

“Foster, we’ve gotta get him out of here. Give me the bag, then go get the stairchair before the woman comes back.” Sylvie kicked some of the glass out of the way and kneeled carefully beside the man. “Sir, can you hear me?” 

Foster handed the bag to her partner and turned back to the ambo. 

The man went to nod, but Sylvie stopped him. “Try not to move. Can you talk?”

“Yeah,” the man rasped. 

“What’s your name?” Sylvie asked.

“Nick.”

“Nick, you have a nasty cut on your head. I’m going to put some pressure on it, okay?”

Nick grunted his assent as she unwrapped some gauze and put them over his head laceration. 

She didn’t notice the slamming around stop, nor did she notice the cussing go quiet.

“Who the fuck is this bitch?” a voice yelled behind her, and she jumped. 

“Ma’am, I’m --” 

“You just think you can do whatever you want because you’re a selfish good-for-nothing!” The woman gave no attention to Sylvie, continuing on her tirade against Nick, “Well, I’ll tell you what you can do -- you can burn in Hell!” She struck a match that Sylvie hadn’t realized she was holding and it hit the ground before Sylvie could stop it.  
___  
Foster was halfway up the second of three flights of stairs when she heard Sylvie scream. She cleared the remaining flight and a half in record time, seeing a glow from the back bedroom. There was the familiar crackle of fire accompanied by the maniacal laughter of the woman, who was standing in the doorway watching. Foster grabbed her radio. The woman seemed to have not noticed her yet, so she spoke quietly. “Main, this is 61. We need immediate police and fire assistance at our current address.” 

“Copy that, 61,” came the reply a few seconds later. 

The woman was still gleefully watching the fire in the bedroom, leaned against the hallway wall. In one swift movement, Foster tackled the woman to the ground. The woman writhed and cursed beneath her, but Foster didn’t care. She could hear her partner’s grunts and could barely see Brett trying to pull Nick out of the flames.

“Brett!” she called out, panicked, but there was nothing she could do unless she was going to let the woman responsible free.  
___

Sylvie could hear Foster outside the room. She grimaced and whimpered as the flames licked her skin. She had to get Nick out. 

They’d started only six feet from the door, she was now very close. She pushed backward another three steps and was clear of the doorway. Three more and Nick was all the way out. She jumped around Emily and threw herself on the ground, rolling out the flames that had caught hold of her uniform. She saw a pillow on the couch nearby and grabbed it, quickly returning to beat out the flames on Nick. 

“Brett!” Foster said again, still fighting the woman struggling beneath her.

“I’m okay,” Sylvie said with a quick glance at her partner as she finished putting out the flames on Nick’s clothes. 

The fire now consumed the entire bedroom. They had to move.

“Police department!” called a voice from the doorway. 

“Over here!” Foster called. “Two paramedics and one vic. I’ve got the suspect down!”

One officer cuffed the woman and pulled her to her feet, escorting her out. They could hear the fire engine sirens approaching outside. The other officer helped Sylvie get Nick into the stairchair. 

Foster approached her partner. “Sure you’re okay?”

“Good enough to get out of here. Let’s get him out,” Sylvie replied. 

Foster and the second police officer got Nick loaded and Sylvie hopped in the back while Foster drove. They were on their way to Med just as Engine 51 and Truck 81 pulled up.  
___

While getting checked out at Med, Dr. Halstead applied some antibacterial ointment to Sylvie’s burns and bandaged them. 

“What about the baby?” she asked nervously.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t go pulling another stunt like this,” he replied, “but everything seems to be okay. When’s your next prenatal appointment?”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “We have it scheduled for after shift tomorrow.”

“I’ll let Dr. Cameron know what happened. She’ll probably just want to run a couple extra tests. In the mean time, you should take off at least the rest of this shift and all of next. We’ll play the rest by ear.” He offered her a hand off the exam bed, which she gladly accepted.

“Thanks, Will.”

“Take care of yourself, Sylvie.”

“I will,” she said, then went to meet Foster back at the ambo.  
___

When they got back to the station, squad was just pulling out, and truck and engine were still away. Sylvie sighed in relief. She really didn’t want to face anyone more than she had to before she got home. She went straight to Boden’s office and knocked on the door. “Chief?” 

He kept his eyes on his paperwork. “Bre -” he cut himself off. “Casey,” he corrected. “Sorry, hab - good god, what happened?” His apology quickly switched to concern when he saw her bandaged arms, burnt uniform, and singed face.

“It’s okay, Chief,” Sylvie said, stepping in. “It’s easier just to keep calling me, ‘Brett.’ We already have our Casey.” 

“Brett, what happened to you?” Boden repeated his previous question. 

Sylvie carefully recounted the story of what happened and told Boden what the doctors said. 

“Does Casey know?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’m going to write up my report, then I’m going home. I’ll talk to him after shift.”

“You sure?” Boden asked.

She nodded. 

“Okay,” he conceded. 

Sylvie thanked him and exited, retreating to Matt’s office to write up her report. Before starting, she texted Stella, asking for a ride home. A rather uncomfortable hour later, she’d finished her report and had left a note on Matt’s desk so he knew she was okay. She handed it to Boden, then met Stella outside the firehouse.

“Girl, what happened?” Stella asked as soon as Sylvie sat down in the passenger seat.

“Rough call. Crazy, jealous wife.” Sylvie groaned, her burned arms aching as she struggled to reach the seatbelt. She got it after a couple tries and fastened it, wincing as the seat’s fabric rubbed against her back and legs. 

When she’d finished recounting what happened, Stella shook her head. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay.” The two rode the rest of the way home in silence.  
___

Boden was waiting for Matt when truck got back to the station. "Casey, a minute."

Matt nodded, quickly scrubbing down his gear and meeting Boden in his office. 

"This report needs your signature," Boden said, extending Sylvie's report from the call that morning. 

Matt saw his wife's new signature scrolled at the bottom. How had this gotten to Boden’s desk before his? “Is she okay?”

Boden nodded. “She just went home. She’s off the rest of this shift and next."

Casey furrowed his brows but said no more. He read through the report, the crease further deepening as each detail unfolded. Wordlessly, he signed it, slid it back to the battalion chief, and exited the office.  
___

When they got home, Sylvie gingerly got out of the car and wobbled her way back to the house. 

Inside, Stella helped her out of her burned uniform and into a loose pair of sweatpants and one of Matt’s sweatshirts, promising to stick around until Casey got home the next morning. Sylvie protested that she would be fine, but Stella insisted. “You can’t get rid of me that easy, sista, I’m staying here.”

Sylvie simply grinned and thanked her friend. “What would I do without you?”

“Let’s not find out.”  
____

By supper time, Casey was going crazy. He’d skipped lunch and locked himself away in his office for the majority of the afternoon. It would be a poor decision on his part to skip two meals in a row, so he stalked into the kitchen and grabbed a plate. 

“Foster, a minute?” he requested before slipping back toward his office. 

She ignored the confused looks that the others at her table shot her, jumping up to follow the Captain. 

He set his plate on his desk and leaned against the back wall of his office. Foster stood in the doorway, waiting for him to explain why she was here. 

“I need you to walk me through what happened at that call this morning.”

“I thought Sylvie filled out a report?”

“She did,” he said. “I want to hear it from your perspective.”

“Well, uh, you heard the call we got,” she started and he nodded. She gave him her version of the story which matched perfectly with Sylvie’s account from the report.

When she finished, he sighed and rubbed his brow. 

“Are you okay, Captain?” she asked.

He didn’t answer, instead waving her away and sitting at his desk. Despite being determined to eat something, the food on his plate was entirely unappealing. He pushed the plate off to the side and tried again to bury himself in paperwork. 

But his attempts were in vain. An hour later, he’d made no progress. His head was not in the right place. He needed to go home, or get out of the firehouse at the very least. He called in a relief officer and informed Boden, who told him to go, even before his replacement arrived.  
____

Stella and Sylvie were just finishing supper when Matt got home. They both shot him a questioning look. Why was he home so early? Whatever it was, Stella didn’t want to be around to figure it out. She shoved the last bite in her mouth and excused herself with the firm instructions to call if she needed anything.

As soon as she was out the door, everything that had been clouding Matt’s mind prior to this moment broke. “What the hell were you thinking, Sylvie?”

What the hell was she thinking? Glad he cared so much that she was okay. "Excuse me?"

"At the call this morning." He threw his arms to the side. "What the hell were you thinking?"

More like what the hell is he presently thinking. "I was doing my job. What's the big deal?"

"Last time I checked, pulling people out of fires is my job. Not yours."

"What was I supposed to do, Matt?" she asked, standing up and moving in front of him, "leave the guy in the flames when I read already right there? Just get myself out and leave a vic with a severe head wound to burn?"

"You come first," he retorted, poking a finger at her. "You weren't even in your turnout gear, Sylvie, really."

"There wasn't a fire when we got there. If I had left the guy in there, even just long enough to get my turnout coat, he would be dead right now."

"And what about you, Sylvie? Did you stop to think about that?"

"There wasn't time to think, Matt. I just did. Tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing."

"Sure, but I would have had a turnout coat on, like you should have."

They were mere inches away from each other, Sylvie's chin stuck defiantly outward, Matt meeting her stare with a tightly clenched jaw. 

She huffed, fire burning in her eyes. "If you have that much of a problem with my judgement, Captain, then write me up. Just remember-- before you get all cynical on me -- that. You. Weren't. There." 

There was barely a beat before he responded, in a tone more grudging than mad, "But I should have been."

Sylvie barely had time to register what he'd said before he shook his head and turned toward the door. "I'll be back later," he said without turning around as he stormed out.  
____

Shellshocked, she watched as he all but slammed the door behind him. She staggered backward to the couch and dropped her head in her hands. Normally, she might try to stop the tears from flowing, but today she just wasn’t feeling it. She was home alone, she was injured, and to top it all off, Matt was mad at her and she didn’t know why. That outburst, for all intents and purposes, was totally unwarranted. Her cheeks were soon soaked with tears. 

They never just fought like that. They had their disagreements, sure, and voices had been raised before, but they had never had an actual fight like that before. It was all too much. So she just sat there on the couch and let herself cry it out.  
____

He marched out to his truck and got in. The truck grumbled to life when he turned the key. He pulled out onto the road and started driving. He figured he would drive around until he’d cooled down and gotten his head in check. 

What the fuck was that all about, Casey? he thought.

It had only been a few short months ago that he’d told Stella that he was okay with her and Sylvie staying on active duty while pregnant. Crap happens on active duty. He knows this all too well. Sylvie was only doing her job. She was right. He would have done the same, and he realized he’d just majorly fucked up. 

"Damn it!" He exclaimed, slamming his fist against the steering wheel. The horn honked and an undeserving driver flipped him the bird.

He groaned. Maybe going for a run would have been a better idea. 

After another few minutes of kicking himself, a neon sign for a flower shop caught his eye. Quickly making up his mind, he merged to the right lane and found a parking garage three blocks down. 

Inside, he bought a bouquet full of Sylvie’s favorite flowers and even spent what he would otherwise say was way too much - if not for trying to make up for a colossal mistake - on a box of chocolates. As soon as he’d paid, he hurried back to the truck and was on his way home.

When he got there, he let himself in. Sylvie was sitting on the armchair in the living room, brokenly humming along to whatever was playing through her headphones. His movement caught her attention and she looked up, briefly meeting his eyes then almost immediately averting her gaze. 

“Sylvie,” he said quietly.

She pulled out one ear bud, but said nothing.

“I, uh, I got you these,” he continued, extending the flowers and chocolates toward her. 

She raised her brows, unmoving, so he moved to kneel on the floor in front of her and sat the flowers and chocolates down on the coffee table behind him.

“Sylvie, I’m sorry,” he said, swallowing hard before he continued, “You didn’t deserve that, and I am a total ass for everything I said.”

She finally looked up at him. 

“I mean it,” he said, “You were just doing your job and being the amazing woman and paramedic that we all know and love. My reaction was totally unwarranted.”

“Then why?” she asked.

He reached for her hands and, when she didn’t pull away, carefully intertwined their fingers. “I love you, Sylvie, and I hope you know how much you mean to me. When I read your report, it reminded me how easy it is to lose people in our line of work. It scared me. I’ve already lost too many people. I can’t lose you, too. Not now, not ever.”

Her eyes watered up again, and a tear dropped down her cheek. 

“I truly am sorry,” he said, “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “My legs took the worst of it, bending them is nearly impossible, so walking will be interesting the next week or two. Dr. Halstead said little one should be okay, though.”

Matt let out a sigh of relief. “Would some chocolate make it better?”

She smiled softly at him and carefully pushed herself into a sitting position. “Couldn’t hurt,” she said. “Those are beautiful flowers. There’s a vase under the sink in the kitchen, could you put them in there with some water?”

He nodded and handed her the box of chocolates. He flipped the lid open for her and lightly placed a kiss on her forehead before standing and getting the vase for the flowers.  
_____

They spent the rest of the night watching a movie. Matt catered to Sylvie’s every want and need. Slowly but surely, the leftover tension in the air dissipated. 

The next morning, he woke before her and took a shower before starting breakfast. He made scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. When he finished, he divided it onto two plates and brought them to the bedroom. He set the plates on the nightstands on either side of the bed, then went back to get his coffee and a glass of milk for Sylvie. 

When he got back into the bedroom this time, he kissed her awake.

Her eyes fluttered open. “Mornin’” she mumbled.

“Good morning, beautiful. I brought you some breakfast.”

She hummed in appreciation. She was quite hungry, but there was one more pressing matter.

“Matt?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Can you help me up? I’ve gotta use the bathroom.”

He quickly obliged, being extra mindful of her burnt limbs.

She returned a few minutes later and the two ate their breakfast before getting ready for their appointment with Dr. Cameron.  
____

Dr. Cameron, after initially shaking her head at Sylvie’s burns, conducted an ultrasound. Thankfully, Sylvie’s abdomen was untouched by the fire. “Everything looks good,” she said. “However, Mrs. Casey, I’m going to strongly recommend you step down from active duty a little earlier than we were originally planning.”

Sylvie opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it, instead nodding her agreement. The extra four weeks off duty wouldn’t kill her. Plus, Stella would welcome the extra company. She’d only been home a week and she was already going stir crazy. 

Matt gently squeezed his wife’s shoulder, glad she was going to comply with Dr. Cameron’s suggestion. “I’ll call Rafferty when we get home - see if she can step in for you until we find a long-term sub.”

With that, Dr. Cameron sent the couple on their way.  
_______

When they got home again, Matt called Rafferty, who said she’d be glad to cover Sylvie’s shifts until they found someone else. Her rent had gone up again at the beginning of the year, so she was starting to have trouble paying it, despite working full time at a different firehouse.

While Matt was on the phone with Rafferty, Sylvie called Emily to give her the heads up.

“You’re what?!” Emily exclaimed when Sylvie told her. 

“Dr. Cameron thinks it’s best, and Matt already seems more relaxed since I agreed to it.”

“Speaking of the captain, how is he? He was acting super weird then he just up and left. He didn’t even tell Severide he was leaving. Boden had to tell us he went home.”

Sylvie pulled her lower lip between her teeth, debating how much to tell her friend. 

Foster, hearing her hesitation, quickly added, “I know it’s not really my business. I just wanted to make sure you were both okay.”

Well, that made things a lot easier. “No, you’re fine,” Sylvie replied. “He was just worried about me.”

“Gotcha. I can’t say I blame him. You had me worried there, partner.”

“Dr. Cameron said everything is fine with the baby, so I am significantly better than I was 24 hours ago.” 

“Oh good,” Foster said, “But how are you, actually?” 

“Walking hurts,” Sylvie answered, “well, moving in general, really. I’ll probably start shedding dead skin in another day or two and won’t be able to bend my knees for the next week.”

Emily chuckled. “Look at you - practicing the pregnancy waddle already!”

“My gosh, I would die if I were waddling around for over half the pregnancy!” 

“Good thing you’re not having twins. They would have you full-on penguin by now.” Emily pointed out. “Anyway, Brett, I’ve gotta get some food and then I’m going to have a nice, long nap.”

“That sounds awesome.”

“Yeah, shift didn’t get any less crazy after you left. Take care of yourself, partner. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will. Thanks,” Sylvie responded. Then, the friends said goodbye and ended the call.

Sylvie sighed. There was a long time before the baby was born, and she had to spend the rest of it off duty. She looked over at Matt. He was looking right back at her. When their eyes met, his lips quirked upward in a grin, and there was a softness in his eyes that she'd rarely seen.

He came over to her and gently wrapped his arms around her. "I love you," he whispered into her ear. "I'm so glad you're safe.”

A warmth flooded her, and suddenly, she wasn't feeling so forlorn about her extended maternity leave. Maybe she would be stir crazy in a couple weeks, but her husband's embrace made her forget all of that. She would be okay because she had Matt, and Matt made everything better.  
_______________  
15 April 2022  
Stella (27 weeks pregnant) warns Sylvie (21 weeks pregnant) about taking her bump out in public.

“I need a drink,” Stella groaned as soon as Sylvie let her into the apartment.

“There’s some tea in the kitchen,” Sylvie offered.

“Not strong enough,” Stella groaned, plopping herself into the rocking chair.

“Don’t I know it,” Sylvie sighed. “What’s on your mind?”

Stella snorted. “More like what’s on my stomach.”

Sylvie furrowed her brow.

“I went grocery shopping today.”

“Swollen ankles?”

“I wish that were all,” Stella huffed. “All these women kept coming up and just touching me.”

“That’s awful! Why do total strangers think they can just do that?”

“Sylvie, I almost punched an old lady today because she hobbled over to me and put her hands all over my belly. Then - if that wasn’t enough - she proceeded to give me the entire story of when she was pregnant with each of her five kids.”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yeah. God, I wish I never would have gone without Kelly. He would have shut that down in a heartbeat,” Stella said, flopping her head back in exhaustion. "You're lucky, Sylvie. You don't even look pregnant."

"That's not true!”

"Coulda fooled me," Stella scoffed playfully.

Sylvie sat up a little straighter and smoothed her tank top over her stomach. "I can't even wear normal pants anymore!" she pouted.  
Stella squinted at her. "Barely," she conceded. "You barely have a bump."

"I told you!"

"But!"

"But what?" Sylvie sighed.

“I wouldn’t be able to tell that that -” she lightly poked her friend’s abdomen - “is a baby bump if I didn’t practically live with you.”

“But all of my shirts are tight. I have to rob Matt’s closet if I want to have room to breathe.” 

Stella chuckled. It was hopeless trying to convince Sylvie Casey of anything she didn’t want to believe. If anything, this pregnancy had made her more stubborn. 

Sylvie took Stella’s laugh for what it was, shifting the conversation to instead try solving Stella’s problem without having to drag Kelly on the domestic shopping trips which he hated to go on. "Maybe we should coordinate our shopping schedules. If people see us talking, maybe they won't interrupt to invade our space."

"It might work,” Stella thought out loud. “If nothing else, we can use whatever we’re talking about as an excuse to just ignore people.”

The two agreed to give it a try, then their conversation turned to the final bits of planning for the Easter gathering they were hosting for their firehouse family in two days - including a last minute grocery run the next morning.  
____

14 May 2022

Sylvie woke up early. She always did the first night she slept in a new place, nevermind the fact that she grew up in this house. Matt was still asleep, and her parents would be out of town until later that afternoon with some friends. 

Originally, Sylvie had wanted to make some breakfast when she got downstairs, but she noticed her parents were low on groceries, so she decided to go grocery shopping for them. She’d never be able to repay everything they did for her, but she could try. 

She got home around nine and the house was uncomfortably hot. She threw open all of the windows downstairs and flipped on the ceiling fan in the kitchen before peeling off her shirt. She loved Chicago, but nothing beat the fresh morning air and privacy of the country during the warmer months. 

Once she was comfortably in just her sport bra and shorts, she turned back toward the kitchen, catching a glimpse of her scarred legs in the mirror. The scars from the fire two and a half months ago were fading, but they’d be there for a while. She and the baby were okay - and that’s what mattered. 

Back in the kitchen, she started putting everything away. Thankfully, her mom wasn’t one to reorganize much. Everything still went the same place it had when she was in high school.

When Matt finally woke up at 9:30, he noticed Sylvie was already up and her side of the bed was cold. He padded downstairs and found her in the kitchen. It appeared she had gone grocery shopping, and most of it was put away. Currently, she was staring at a watermelon as if it were some sort of alien, arms crossed over her chest, her bare stomach slightly bulged out in front of her.

He stopped in his tracks. She had an actual baby bump. Dr. Cameron had told them it wasn’t uncommon for some women to have to wait until the third trimester to start showing. Stella had a noticeable bump by - what had Severide said she was at, 22 weeks? With Sylvie’s smaller stature - they’d both assumed she’d show early like Stella, who was obviously larger than Sylvie. Now, at 25 weeks, he finally saw it and a warmth washed over him, his heart melting. He’d never seen a more beautiful sight in his whole life than his wife, obviously pregnant with their baby. 

Smiling, he walked up behind her, put a hand on her shoulder, and was leaning in to kiss her when WHAM! 

Suddenly, her shoulder was no longer under his hand and her elbow came out of nowhere, making solid contact with his cheekbone and eye. “Ow, fuck!” he hissed, ducking away. He tripped over his feet and landed on the floor, one hand over his eye, the other behind him, holding himself in a sitting position.

“Jesus, Matt, don’t scare me like that!” Sylvie chastized. Then, realizing he was hurt, “Oh, shit, are you okay?” she asked as she knelt on the floor in front of him. 

He slowly nodded.

“I’m so sorry, Matt, really,” she said, eyes filled with concern as she gently moved his arm from his face. “I didn’t hear you come downstairs. You’re gonna have a hell of a shiner.”

“Don’t I know it,” he groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, offering his free hand to her. “Remind me to never do that again.”

She gladly accepted and he pulled her up. She pulled a bag of peas from the freezer and wrapped the bag in a thin dish towel, offering them to him with a weak smile. 

He held the frozen bag to his face and Sylvie’s attention floated back to the fruit on the counter. “So,” he said after a beat, “What’s wrong with the watermelon?”

“Hm?” she asked, her eyes unmoving from the fruit.

“The watermelon,” he said. “You’re staring at it like there’s something wrong.”

“Oh, um, it’s nothing,” she responded quickly, flicking her gaze to him then dropping it to the floor. “I mean - it’s something - obviously - but you’re going to think I’m crazy.”

“Try me.”

“This baby’s never coming out.” 

Maybe she’d hit him harder than he thought, because that made no sense. “What?” he asked, making sure he’d heard her correctly.

“The baby,” she said, looking back up at him. “They can’t come out. It’s not going to happen.”

Okay, so it wasn’t the elbow to the face. She actually did say that, but she’d delivered numerous babies on the job. She knew just about every way this pregnancy thing could end - and in none of those ways did the baby stay in. “Sylvie, what on earth are you talking about?” he asked incredulously. 

“Matt, look at me! I can’t fit one of those -” she jabbed a finger at the melon - “out of there!” she proclaimed, pointing her other hand between her legs. 

He shook his head at her. “Sylvie -”

“I know it’s ridiculous,” she interrupted, “but you know how tight it is down there -” she pointed again - “and our baby is going to be this big -” she picked up the watermelon and shook it at him - “when they have to come out!” She spread her legs and held the melon between them, looking between the melon and her husband, waiting for him to understand that she couldn’t possibly do this. “And this is a small melon!” she added. 

Matt raised his brows, unsure what she wanted him to say. 

After a few moments, she turned and put the melon back on the counter. She twitched her nose at it in annoyance then moved it to where she thought her mom would want it. Turning back to her husband, she explained, “I started researching delivery options last week.”

Ah. So that’s where this was coming from. “And?” he asked, shifting to hold the bag of peas with his other hand. 

“I’ve been thinking about it, and it’ll just be easier to never have it. Little one is staying in there forever.” She patted her bump.

He put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her, a playful glimmer in the eye that wasn’t currently turning every shade of black and blue known to man. “Now, I don’t know much about babies, but I’m pretty sure they have to come out.” He smirked at her and she smiled sheepishly up at him. “Do you want to talk about it? Or do you need a break from it?”

“Can we eat first? How do you feel about Chinese?” she asked.

He barely stopped himself from groaning. They’d been having Chinese nonstop for the last three weeks. There was only so much a guy could eat before he got sick of it. “It’s fine,” he said finally, the look on his face giving him away.

“You’re lying,” she said, squinting at him. 

“Not totally,” he sighed. “We’ve just been having it a lot.”

Sylvie stopped to think about it. She was loving her basically daily dose of cashew chicken, fried rice, and egg rolls - not to mention the fortune cookies - but they had been having it a lot lately. “I’m sorry,” she said, “Apparently our kid likes it. What sounds good to you?”

Matt tried to think of something that would be close enough to keep his wife’s cravings happy that actually sounded appetizing. “How do you feel about going out?” he asked finally. “It’s a nice day - we could pick up something and eat at that park in - Gas City, was it? - right along the river. That way you could get whatever Little One desires and I can have something that’s not dictated by a tiny parasite.”

She lightly smacked him on the chest. 

“What was that for? Haven’t you abused me enough today?” he asked facetiously.

“It takes two to tango, Matthew, and it’s not my fault you scared me,” she replied matter-of-factly, “You should feel lucky it wasn’t worse. The last guy who broke into my house got beat up with a baseball bat and crawled out. Pretty sure I broke a rib or two on him.”

Wait what? “The last guy?” he asked. “How have I never heard of this?”

“It was shortly after I moved to Chicago,” she explained with a shrug. “I was living in a shoddy part of town. Came home from shift, place was trashed, guy was still there. There was a bat on the ground so I picked it up and beat him until he left. I never told anyone - well, no one besides Harrison, but he doesn’t count, then he had the audacity to tell me I couldn’t take care of myself.”

Matt mentally cursed Sylvie’s ex. Anyone who thought his wife was anything other than strong and capable was sorely mistaken. The only reason he wouldn’t be first to tell them that is if Sylvie beat him to it. 

“Anyway, it was almost a decade ago. Now, let’s go. Your child is hungry, and it’s a whole fifteen minutes just to get there.”

Matt chuckled, double checking he had his keys, phone, and wallet before following his wife out the door. 

Fifteen minutes later, as they were about to turn off of Main Street toward the Chinese restaurant, the sign for a cash-only pizza joint caught Sylvie’s eye. It was her among her favorites as a child, and her craving for fried rice vanished in a heartbeat. Matt gladly agreed to it and the two decided to eat in then go for a walk in the park before they returned to Sylvie’s parents’ house.  
____

Their conversation about delivery options got delayed until they arrived at the park and started walking around. 

Matt listened carefully as Sylvie laid out what she had researched, giving the key points of each option before telling him what she liked and disliked about each option. 

When she’d finished, he nodded pensively. Normally, he might give his opinion in this space, but not with the topic of giving birth. He’d helped a woman deliver a baby once, on a call some ten years ago. It was an incredibly magical moment, and there was little he’d experienced like it since. He would give nearly anything to witness and be part of that again; however, he also knew that whatever Sylvie wanted to do would be what they did. It was her body that would be going through the process. His only job was to support her in every way he could.

She stopped walking and turned to face him. “Can I ask you something else?”

He, too, came to a stop. “Anything,” he replied, looking her in the eye.

“Matt, I don’t know if I can go back.”

He tensed. Was she going to pull a Gabby on him? “Go back where? Chicago?” 

“No,” she said, quickly shaking her head, knowing exactly what through his head - because it went through hers too, after she heard how she said what she said. “We are definitely going back to Chicago.”

He visibly relaxed and she grabbed his hands. “Matt, I would never just up and leave like that. I love you too much. I love Chicago, and I’m insanely happy with our life here - together.”

He pulled her close and kissed her softly, letting his lips linger against hers a little longer than he usually would have deemed appropriate for public affection, but he didn’t care. Swallowing the small lump in his throat, he asked, “Then where?”

She took a deep breath, dropping her gaze to the dirt path under their feet. “To 51.”

“What? Why?” 

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what happens when the baby comes lately,” she said, looking back up at him. 

“And?” he gently asked.

“You, me, Stella, Severide - we all work on the same shift. What if - God forbid - what if there were a really bad call and something happened to all of us? Who would take care of our babies?” 

He nodded solemnly. The thought had crossed his mind, but he’d always just brushed it off. Plenty of firefighters had families. However, he didn’t know any families where both parents were on active duty. “Whatever you want to do,” he said, “I’ll stand by your decision, one hundred percent.”

“I - I don’t know that I could do it forever, but maybe I try the stay-at-home mom thing for a while. Then, if Stella wants to go back to work, I can watch their daughter, too.” Matt nodded thoughtfully, and Sylvie continued, “I know there’s an academy class finishing up soon. I just thought I would bring this up now. Maybe Foster will get bumped to PIC and 61 can bring in a candidate.” 

“It has been a while since we’ve gotten fresh blood in at 51,” he said. 

“So you like the idea?”

“Like I said, Sylvie, I’m happy as long as I have you. Sure, I miss you like crazy at work, but I think we’ve grown even closer since we’re forced to spend time apart.”

She nodded her agreement. “I’ve been more worried about you since I’ve been off duty, but it makes me appreciate the time we have together a lot more.”

“Well then,” he said, giving her hands a squeeze, “Do you want to give me a ride on Wednesday? We can talk to Boden and Chief Hatcher, then I’ll catch a ride home with Severide.”

“Sounds like a date,” she replied, smiling up at him. Just then, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She found a text from her mom wondering where they were. She texted back that they would be home soon, then she and Matt walked hand-in-hand back to his truck and they drove back to Fowlerton to spend the rest of the weekend with her parents.  
___________  
02 June 2022 

Barely fifteen minutes after Matt and Kelly left for the firehouse, Sylvie and Stella met out front. They were going grocery shopping this morning, hoping to avoid the worst of the crowds, then they had plans for lunch. 

Their plan to always go together had been working well since they started it a month ago. Fewer strangers approached Stella to give her unsolicited advice and stories. Those who did were much more considerate, usually young moms with at least one under-2-year-old in tow. More times than not, when Stella and Sylvie were approached by this demographic, they had been debating something relevant to food, and a young mom nearby would offer her opinion. 

This morning, on the drive through the city, the two were telling each other about their latest prenatal visits, though Sylvie hadn’t had one for a month. At 28 weeks, she was high on the second trimester. Her only complaint was that people, her parents included, couldn't seem to understand that she and Matt didn't want to know the gender of their baby until it was born. As such, no, they didn't have a name, either. Although, at Kelly's advice, Matt had gotten the ball rolling early on that front. They had a list of 30 or so names - some for a boy, some for a girl, and some that could go either way. They hoped to narrow it down a lot more before the baby was born, but they still had 14 weeks if all went well.

Daily walks to and through the park were the highlight of her days, followed by whatever she cooked up for lunch. She had been cooking so much that her mom suggested buying a small chest freezer and preparing some casseroles in advance. 

Sylvie's mom had never had kids of her own due to PCOS, but she was the first one there with homemade food for every family with a new baby in Fowlerton. The farm kept her busy, but she always made time to be there for the new moms whose moms couldn't - or wouldn't - be there for them, to swing by every day to help with household tasks or just giving the new mama some time away from their baby to take care of themselves. 

Sylvie thought the chest freezer was a great idea and had proposed it to Matt, who also liked the idea. However, only halfway through the second trimester, Sylvie was careful not to stockpile too much. They didn't want it getting freezer burned. 

Matt's construction business was picking back up with the nicer weather, so he was gone a lot. To keep herself from going stir crazy, Sylvie found a variety of odd jobs. Many times, this was helping an elderly person or someone with physical limitations with cooking or house or yard work. Maybe, she thought, being a stay-at-home mom won't be too bad. 

Stella, who was still putting in a lot of hours at Molly's (which her ankles were less happy about by the day), was glad her friend was able to stay busy. She was, however, taken aback that Sylvie had decided not to go back to work. After thinking about it, though, she fully supported it. It would be a lot easier for her to go back to work if she were leaving her baby with Sylvie, rather than some stranger.

Rafferty had picked up nearly all of Sylvie's shifts since March. While she and Foster weren't exactly friends, they were professional and worked well as a team. The academy was sending out another wave of candidates at the end of June, and one of them would be given a shot riding on 61. Foster's promotion to PIC became official as of last shift. 

Stella joked that, maybe, she should move over to ambo and let 81 get the new candidate, but she loved being a firefighter more than almost anything else. 

At 34 weeks, she and Kelly had finally figured out a name for their baby girl. They'd just had another prenatal visit on Monday. Dr. Cameron said everything looked good, that the baby was developing well. Two weeks prior, she had told them to expect Braxton-Hicks -- or "practice contractions" beginning soon. Stella thought she might have felt a couple before Dr. Cameron told them this, but she’d definitely had some since.

"Speaking of," Stella winced, "There’s another one."

Sylvie found a spot in the large parking lot and pulled in. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure, only a bit worse than a period cramp."

"Do you still want to do this?" Sylvie asked, referring to the store. Stella might be a tough cookie, but Sylvie also knew her friend had worse period cramps than the average woman. If the Braxton-Hicks were worse than that, they were starting to get pretty painful.

"We're already here, it's not that bad. Let's just take it slow."

Sylvie raised her brows, but decided not to argue. The whole time moving slowly through the store, she could tell her friend was hurting. 

Stella clenched her jaw and pushed through the sporadic pain. By the time they were to the checkout, though, she was exhausted and beyond uncomfortable. 

Once all their groceries were in their reusable bags (green for the Caseys, blue for Stellaride) in the cart, Sylvie put an arm around her friend to help her walk out to the car. 

"So how long have you two been together?" asked the store employee designated for helping customers load their supplies into their cars. 

Stella shot the 20-somethings kid a look, but Sylvie answered them politely, "We've been friends for a decade."

"That's so cute," the oblivious employee gushed as the trio arrived at Stella's jeep. "When did you know you were meant to be together?"

"Oh, no, we're not married. - Well, we are - just not to each other." Sylvie replied as she unlocked the vehicle, helping Stella get in the passenger side before opening the hatch to load the back. The two quickly emptied the bags from the cart, and Sylvie got back in the jeep.

Stella had her arms wrapped around herself, head leaned back against the headrest with her eyes closed. She was taking slow, controlled breaths. The contractions had finally ceased, but the pain lingered. Her muscles were more tired than she was.  
____

When they got back home half an hour later, Sylvie put away her groceries then went to help Stella finish putting away hers. 

Stella, who was finally back to what had become her normal pace, reheated some leftovers for lunch and divided them in half. 

After the two had cleaned up lunch dishes, Stella went upstairs for a nap, and Sylvie went home for the same. As soon as she got there, she changed into her nightgown for comfort's sake and crawled into bed for a little more sleep.

She woke up around supper time and started a load of laundry. She ate some supper while she was waiting for it to wash, then hung it on the dying rack once it had finished. 

It dried before she wanted to go to bed, so she folded it and put it away, texting Matt intermittently. They didn’t talk a lot while he was at work, but he always made sure to send her a message every so often to check up on her and let her know he was okay. It helped both of them, knowing all was well.

Sylvie sent him one last text before settling into bed. She stayed awake long enough to read his response, and a soft smile appeared on her face as she drifted off to sleep.  
______

03 June 2022

Matt was finishing up the last of his paperwork from the day before when a message appeared on his phone: Don’t forget my appointment today! I love you, Daddy. Mommy can’t wait to see you soon!

The corners of his mouth pulled upward. Around a month ago, Sylvie started sending him a text every so often like their baby had written it. Oftentimes, these messages came through when he’d just had a rough call or was stressed about something. It was like magic - his Sylvie was magic - and it melted his heart every time. He still couldn’t believe how lucky he was. 

“You’re in a good mood,” Severide interrupted his thoughts from the door of his office.

Matt held up a finger, quickly typing a response to his wife: Can’t wait. See you in a couple hours. <3  
Then he turned his attention to Severide. “We have our 28 week appointment today.”

Severide nodded empathetically. “We’re gonna be dads soon.”

“Took long enough,” Matt replied. “I’ve wanted this for almost half my life.”

“Shit, man,” Kelly responded, mentally calculating the years. They were both closer to 50 than they were to 20. 

Matt nodded absently. He’d been dreaming of having a family since he first held his niece when he was 23. Sweet Violet was 20 now, nearly as old as he’d been when she was born. She was in university now, but she’d changed her major so many times, Matt couldn’t keep track. 

He’d hoped to have kids close in age to his niece, but it took him ten years after she was born to almost become a parent. Then there was Gabby with all the ups and downs, losing the baby, giving up Louie - not like they would have won if his case had gone to court. 

Now, finally, he was closer to becoming a dad than ever. 43 might be late, but he just hoped that it wasn’t too late. He couldn’t wait to run around with his and Sylvie’s kids, and she would make such an amazing mom. He saw the way she interacted with her half-sister whenever she visited. He saw the way she took care of kids. He imagined she would be even more remarkable with their own.

Severide cleared his throat, pulling Matt from the daydream he so easily fell into. “Guess who called in sick again today.”

Matt’s shoulders sagged. “Jacobs?”

Kelly nodded.

“Isn’t this the -”

“Third shift in a row? Yeah. I’m starting to think he’s faking it after that near miss he had last week.”

“Why doesn’t he just take leave?”

Kelly shrugged. “Anyway, can you find a ride home? I told Boden I’d cover.”

Matt nodded, glancing at the time. He had an hour to figure something out.  
_______

Sylvie was waiting outside when Herrmann dropped Matt off at home that afternoon. She greeted her husband with a kiss. “Where’s Severide?”

“Working a double. Jacobs called in sick again.”

Sylvie shook her head. “If he needs the time to deal with it, why not just take leave instead of calling in last second?”

Matt shrugged. “I asked the same thing. I guess pride makes us do stupid things sometimes.”

“I guess,” Sylvie sighed, holding Matt’s truck keys out to him. “Ready to go see how our baby is doing?”

Matt’s tired expression quickly morphed into a smile. He grabbed the keys and Sylvie’s hand in one fell swoop before squatting down to place a kiss on her bump. “It’s my favorite part of the month,” he replied, jumping back to his feet and getting in the truck.

“Well, after this, we get to go twice a month.”

His smile widened as he turned the keys in the ignition. 28 weeks down, only 12 more until they got to meet their baby. Half her, half him, his entire, lifelong dream.  
____

An hour later, they were watching their baby on the screen. “Welcome to the final trimester,” Dr. Cameron greeted the couple.

Matt and Sylvie shared a smile, simultaneously reaching for each other and folding their hands together. 

Dr. Cameron went to Sylvie’s other arm to take her vitals. 

Sylvie saw the doctor furrow her brows and squeezed Matt’s hand. He gave her a reassuring squeeze in return. Sylvie swallowed hard and licked her lips. “Is everything okay?” she asked when Dr. Cameron had finished writing down the numbers. 

“Your blood pressure is a little on the high side, but that could have just been from the walk from where you parked. Take it again when you get home, after you’ve been resting for a bit, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

Sylvie absently nodded, but she hadn’t actually heard anything past “high blood pressure.”

Matt listened carefully while keeping a close eye on his wife. Though she was soon responding to Dr. Cameron again, he could tell her mind was somewhere else for the remainder of the appointment.

Dr. Cameron printed out a photo of the ultrasound of Baby Casey at the end of the appointment. She handed it to Matt and sent the couple on their way.

As soon as they were back in the car, Sylvie let a tear slip. One tear soon turned to a full cry. 

Matt put a hand on her shoulder and she scooted to the center of the bench seat in his truck. He wrapped his arms around her and let her cry. She’d been so unsure about letting her birth mom into her life two years ago. Part of him wished that she’d decided not to, if only to save herself this hurt now. 

“Matt,” she whimpered, “what if it’s genetic? What if I wind up like Julie?”

“Sylvie, baby,” he whispered into her hair, planting a kiss on her head. “You won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

He ignored where that conversation could go, deciding instead to try turning things positive. “I know that you’re a fighter, Sylvie, and you’re a lot younger than Julie was. Dr. Cameron wasn’t worried. We shouldn’t be either.”

“I know,” Sylvie sniffled after a minute. “I just miss her.”

“I know you do,” he said, rubbing her back as she began to quiet.

“Thirty years wondering about my birth mom just to be robbed of her a month after meeting - it’s unfair.”

“At least you were able to get your answers,” he offered.

She nodded against him, taking comfort in him surrounding her. The two sat like that for a couple minutes until Sylvie’s stomach let out a loud growl. 

“Looks like our child has your appetite,” Matt chuckled, patting his wife’s bump. 

“You try eating for two,” she retorted, lightly punching his leg before buckling up in the center. “Do you want to eat out or should we go home and make something?”

“It’s a beautiful day,” Matt said. “Let’s eat out, then we can walk around a park for a while.”

Sylvie smiled at her husband. She was thinking about doing the same thing. He returned her smile and turned the truck on. With that, they were on their way to find some food and fresh air.  
______________  
The couple spent nearly three hours in the park, enjoying the early summer afternoon. They made a stop for ice cream before going home. When they got there around two, they had barely gotten parked in the driveway when Sylvie’s phone pinged with an incoming message from Stella: can you come over?

Matt noticed Sylvie’s brow furrow before she quickly got out of the car, heading toward the other side of the townhouses. Feeling something was off, he decided to follow her.

They didn’t bother knocking. As soon as the door was open, Sylvie called, “Stella?”

“Be down in a min-” Stella called back in a strained voice, the last word getting stuck. 

A little worried, Sylvie made her way toward the stairs. Stella was just getting to the top as she arrived at the bottom. “Are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah,” Stella gritted her teeth, leaning on the railing for support. “Can you help me down?” 

Sylvie was quickly by her friend’s side, an arm wrapped around her. One stair at a time, they made their way to the bottom. 

“Stella, tell me what’s happening.”

“Contractions. Consistent. Hospital. Now,” Stella panted.

Matt and Sylvie exchanged a look. “Do you have a bag packed?” Matt asked.

Stella shook her head. She thought she had more time. 

“Is there anything you want me to get?”

She shook her head again, so Matt got ahead of the women and held the door open for them. When they moved in, all four of them had given each other keys for both houses in case someone got locked out or lost their keys, so Matt used his to lock up the door behind them, then the trio was on their way to the hospital. 

Matt called Kelly on the way, but he didn’t answer. Matt hung up and dialed the firehouse instead. He got an answer this time. Squad was out on a call, but they would get the message to Severide as soon as possible.  
________________

At the hospital, it was quickly confirmed that Stella was in actual labor and she was moved to her own room. Matt took note of the room number and how to get there so he could go out front to meet Kelly, though nobody knew how long it would be before he could get there. Some squad calls took hours to complete.

Sylvie stayed by Stella’s side, holding her hand as the contractions slowly intensified. A nurse stepped in every hour to check on her. Dr. Cameron stopped by occasionally to do the same. Matt hung around in case there was something either of them wanted or needed. He texted Kelly, telling him to send a message on his way. 

Shortly after four, Stella wanted to walk around and use gravity to her advantage. Sylvie, of course, went with her and they sent Matt to get some food for when they got back.

The two women made their way slowly around the hallways, stopping every few minutes when the contractions became too painful to move through. At these points, Stella leaned against the wall. If they happened to be at an intersection, Sylvie wrapped her arms around her friend, and Stella would rest her head on top of Sylvie’s until the contraction passed.  
_____

Kelly finally called just as Matt was getting to the cafeteria. Matt had barely gotten the phone to his ear when Kelly blurted, “It it true?”

“Yeah,” Matt said. “Get your ass over here, I’ll be waiting for you out front.”

The phone call ended as quickly as it had begun. Matt stepped into the cafeteria for four to-go meals then went to wait for Kelly.  
____

Stella walked through the halls for half an hour before she got too tired. Sylvie wrapped an arm around her to support the side away from the wall. When they got back into the room, Stella lowered herself onto the bed with Sylvie’s help. She smiled weakly. “Thanks for being here, sister.”

Sylvie smiled back, taking Stella’s hand in one of hers, patting her friend’s shoulder with the other. “I’ll always be here for you.”

“Has Kelly messaged yet?” Stella asked after yet another contraction passed, reaching for her phone. “I’m going to kick his ass if he leaves me alone on this.”

Just then, the two men came into the room. “That won’t be necessary, babe. I’m right here,” Kelly said, still in his sweaty station gear.

Stella released Sylvie’s hand and reached for her husband’s outstretched hand. Sylvie rubbed her shoulder before standing so Kelly could take her place beside Stella. 

Matt distributed the bagged meals and they settled in to eat. While they were doing so, a nurse stopped in to check on Stella’s progress. She was about 5cm dilated. Stella groaned, “You mean I’m only half way?” 

Her nurse nodded. “You’re progressing pretty nicely though. If you keep going at this, we’ll probably get to meet baby girl before the sun comes up tomorrow.” 

Severide beamed and Matt nodded, mentally calculating how many hours that was. Sylvie, who already had it figured out, did her best to keep a positive expression on her face as she looked over to Stella, who had exasperatedly flopped her head back against the pillow. 

The nurse smiled at the wide array of reactions across the quartet before writing some numbers down in the stats chart and leaving the room.

When they’d finished eating, Kelly and Stella (but mostly Kelly) thought up a list of things they wanted from home. Matt and Sylvie took it and promised to be back as soon as possible. Kelly, however, told them not to rush, and Stella nodded her approval. 

“I won’t need any of that until after she comes anyway,” Kelly said.

“Me either,” Stella seconded.

“Go, sleep,” Kelly said. “We’ll see you in the morning.”

The Caseys said their goodbyes. When they got home, they packed a bag for Kelly and Stella, grabbing a couple other items they saw that they thought the soon-to-be parents might want. After they’d finished, they locked up and went back to their side of the townhouse. They took care of a few more household chores and stayed up enjoying each other’s company for a while before curling up in bed together. They set an alarm for five the next morning, hoping to beat the rush hour traffic on their way back to the hospital. Hopefully, when they woke up, their niece would be earthside and healthy.  
____________  
04 June 2022

The night passed slowly and painfully for Stella. More than once, a nurse on their hourly rounds asked if she wanted an epidural. 

Every time, she said no. She was determined to do this naturally. 

By midnight, Kelly’s hand was starting to get sore from how hard his wife was squeezing it. 

When they checked her progress around one o’clock, she was at 8 cm. “You’ll be ready before you know it,” the nurse encouraged. 

Getting restless, Stella convinced Kelly to take her on another walk around 1:30. She wanted this baby OUT. 

They slowly made their way around the halls for about 20 minutes before returning to the room, but over half of this was spent standing still, leaning against a wall or - more commonly - Kelly.

Finally, at about 3:45, Stella was ready. The birthing team came into her room.

Exhausted, she breathed a sigh of relief. The worst part had passed.

Their baby would be there soon.  
____  
An hour later, she realized she was naive to think this part would be easy. 

Kelly placed a gentle kiss on her head after the doctor counted off her push for what felt like the millionth time. He wished there were more he could do for her. She was being so strong, but someone would have to be blind to miss how exhausted she was.

Finally, FINALLY, at 0513 on the fourth of June, their baby girl was born. 

The doctors set the infant on her mother’s chest. Tiny blue eyes met her black ones and time froze. 

Too soon, though, the doctors snatched her back up to get all her stats written down and check her over. At only 34 weeks gestation, they wanted to keep a close eye.

“Do the two of you have a name?” Dr. Cameron asked.

Stella nodded through the mouthful of ice she’d just taken.

“Elizabeth,” Kelly said, “Elizabeth Shaylyn Severide.”

“Lizzie,” Stella muttered, laying back on the pillow before the doctors were once again bothering her for the final stage of delivery.  
________________

The Caseys got to the hospital at a quarter to six. Matt had texted Kelly when they were on their way, and soon got a response that they could come straight to the room.

Kelly met them in the hallway just outside the room.

“Stella’s feeding the baby right now,” he explained. “We can go in when she’s done.”

“How are they?” Sylvie asked.

“Both are doing great,” Kelly said. “Lizzie’s breathing on her own, but they’re going to keep her here for a week just for observation since she was a month early. Stella’s drained, but doing well. I don’t think she’s slept since before whenever labor started.” 

“Lizzie is such a cute name,” Sylvie commented. “But I guess we’ll have to take that off of our list of potentials, now. What’s her full name?”

“Elizabeth Shaylyn Severide.”

Matt immediately recognized the name and turned toward his friend. “She would be honored, you know.”

Kelly nodded. “I wish she were here for this.”

Sylvie observed quietly as Matt put a hand on Severide’s shoulder. “She would be broadcasting this to the world right now. There wouldn’t be a soul who didn’t know her best friend had just become a dad.”

“You’re right about that,” Kelly chuckled. Shay would have been over the moon. She loved kids.

“Hey,” called an exhausted Stella, “Get your a-” she cut herself off, remembering the baby in her arms. “Butts in here,” she said instead.

Sylvie led the group and made a beeline for her friend. Matt and Kelly stood cheerfully off to the side, observing. 

“How are you Stella?” Sylvie asked softly. 

“Not gonna lie, Sylvie. This is probably the worst pain you’ll ever experience.”

Sylvie grimaced. She could handle pain fairly well, but dislocating her shoulder in that mattress factory three years ago had almost been too much. 

“But don’t worry,” Stella said, seeing her friend’s face go white. “It’s got the best reward.” They both looked to the swaddled infant in her arms.

“She’s beautiful,” Sylvie smiled.

“Lizzie, this is your Auntie Sylvie,” Stella cooed to the infant. “And I bet she really wants to hold you so Mommy can take a nap,” she said, looking over to her friend.

Sylvie nodded enthusiastically, gently taking the baby in her arms.

“Doc says love her up,” Stella said quietly, letting her eyes flutter shut. “Wake me up if there’s a fire.”

Severide smiled and leaned toward Casey. “You think she’d actually function in a fire right now?”

Matt absently shook his head. He was too busy taking in the sight of Sylvie holding their newborn niece. Suddenly breathless, he took a couple short steps to stand behind her. 

Lightly shaking his head, Kelly grabbed his bag off the floor. He was in desperate need of a shower when he got to the hospital over twelve hours prior. Now, he took advantage of everyone being distracted and slipped in the bathroom to clean up.

“Hi, Lizzie,” Matt whispered to the tiny human in his wife’s arms. 

Sylvie looked up at her husband as he wrapped an arm around her. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

Matt nodded and the couple shared a smile as the newborn drifted off to sleep in Sylvie’s arms. “Like mother like daughter,” she mused under her breath, throwing a quick glance at Stella, who was already fast asleep on the bed beside them.

Matt smiled and gently pressed a kiss to her temple. In a few months, if all went well - please let everything go well - they would be holding their baby. His free hand absently found its way to his wife’s abdomen, his thumb rubbing small circles into the fabric of her shirt. “I love you, Sylvie.”

The corners of her mouth tugged upward. “I love you, too,” she said, leaning into her husband. 

13 June 2022 

“There,” Stella said softly, sinking onto the couch beside her husband, “She’s finally asleep.” They’d brought Lizzie home from Med that morning and it seemed like she’d done nothing but cry all day. 

Kelly pulled his wife closer and she leaned her head on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss into her hair. “Do you want to go to bed, too?”

“It’s only seven,” she muttered groggily. “What if she needs us?”

“Then she’ll cry, just like she did in the hospital. Come on,” he said, patting Stella’s back. “You go to bed. I’ll stay up a little longer to make sure she’s okay.”

Stella groaned and curled tighter into him. He sighed, carefully extracting himself from her grip. Standing in front of her, he held out his arms. She lazily took his hands and he pulled her to her feet. He lifted her gently and carried her back upstairs to their bedroom. He laid her on the bed and brushed a hair out of her face, simultaneously pulling a light sheet over her. 

“What would I do without you?” she murmured.

He smiled softly and pressed a kiss into her temple, not offering any more response because she was already asleep. He quietly stepped into the nursery and lowered himself into the rocking chair in the corner. Lizzie was sound asleep, just like her mother. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and found a text from Sylvie: Hope all went well for Lizzie’s first day home!

He typed a quick reply that it had and that Lizzie and Stella both were happily asleep before he started scrolling absently through social media. 

Some time later, he awoke to a thud, soon identifying the source of the noise as his mobile, which had slipped out of his hand and hit the floor. He pocketed the phone and returned to his chair. A few hours had passed since Stella went to bed. Despite having shift in the morning, he decided to stay in the nursery until after he took care of whatever Lizzie would likely need soon.

As if on cue, the infant began to whimper from her crib and Kelly was soon by her side. He could smell the dirty diaper before he’d even picked her up. Sticking a pacifier in his daughter’s mouth to attempt keeping her from disturbing her mother, he laid her on the changing table. “Sssshhhhh, Lizzie,” he cooed, “Daddy’s got you.” 

She looked up at him with her big, blue eyes and sucked on the pacifier for a few moments before it fell from her mouth and she began to whimper again. Kelly rushed to replace the pacifier then put a clean diaper on his daughter. 

Once everything had been fastened, Kelly gently tousled the fine, black hair on Lizzie’s head. “All better?” he asked, scooping her into his arms.

She blinked, suckling on her pacifier. 

Kelly smiled down at her. “You don’t look tired at all,” he whispered, deciding to walk around the house with her until she went back to sleep. “Let’s go downstairs so Mommy can keep sleeping, hmm?”  
_______

Kelly wasn’t in bed when Stella woke up in the early hours of the morning. She sat up, rubbing her eyes then squinting at the time. It wasn’t even two o’clock yet. She went to use the restroom then went in search of her husband. He wasn’t in the nursery, nor was Lizzie, so she continued her search downstairs. 

She found them laying together on the couch, an empty bottle on the coffee table. Kelly was fast asleep, head turned lazily to the side, as Lizzie lay on her back on his legs, studying the ceiling.

Stella shook her head. “Silly Daddy,” she said, carefully picking Lizzie up off of her father. Once the infant was secure in her arms, Stella pressed a kiss into Kelly’s temple. “Kelly,” she said.

He groaned and his head lulled to the other side. She persisted, saying his name again. This time, he cracked one eye open. “Hmm?”

“Your back is gonna hate you if you sleep like that.”

“Lizzie?” he mumbled.

“I’ve got her. Now come on, let’s get you to bed.”

He groaned but put down the footrest on the couch and dragged himself to his feet. He groggily made his way upstairs to the bedroom. Stella followed him with Lizzie, placing her back in her crib and turning on the white noise machine Cindy had given them. By the time she got back to their bedroom, Kelly was fast asleep. She smiled tiredly and joined him in bed, soon succumbing to sleep herself.  
____________  
29 June 2022

At the end of their shift Monday, Boden had told everyone to make sure they were on their best behavior for today’s shift. The new paramedic was coming from the academy today. 

“So,” Foster said, leaning against the wall next to Casey with a yawn. The two of them and Boden had arrived an hour early to be the welcoming committee. “This is really happening.”

Casey nodded, trying and failing to stifle a yawn of his own. He’d been working overtime juggling a lot of summer construction gigs and building furniture for the nursery. He hadn’t been worried about getting it done on time until Lizzie showed up six weeks early. He’d worked nonstop the three days following Lizzie’s birth to finish the crib and rocking chair he’d promised Stella and Kelly. He wasn’t about to repeat that with his child when he should be spending the first weeks with his wife and their baby. “It’ll be good,” he said. “51 hasn’t had new blood since Gallo.”

“Good thing I decided not to go back to med school, huh?”

Matt’s reply was cut short by the appearance of an unfamiliar woman approaching the station. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a basic ponytail which was braided and secured with a second hair tie. Her black eyes scanned the front of the station and landed on Matt and Emily.

Foster waved. “Are you our new paramedic?” she asked.

The olive-skinned woman nodded and extended a hand. “Aziza Carson. My friends call me Zi.”

“Emily Foster. It’s nice to meet you,” Foster said, shaking Zi’s hand. “And this is Captain Matt Casey.”

Matt and Zi also shook hands then Foster set to giving her a tour.

At 0745, the two women were already in the meeting room. Zi chose a seat in the front corner and angled herself so she could see people as they came in the door. Foster told her the name of each and which rig they worked on. 

Twenty minutes later, Boden wrapped up his opening remarks and introduced everyone to their new paramedic. “If you’d like to say a couple words?” he invited her.

“Sure,” she said with a casual shrug. “As Chief Boden said, I’m Aziza Carson, but all of my friends call me Zi. I grew up in Rockford and moved here as soon as I started the academy. I’m excited to get to know you all.”

A chorus of welcomes sounded then everyone went to the common room to hopefully eat some breakfast before the bells went off.  
______  
Sylvie had gotten used to waking up with Matt every morning. This morning though, she’d been mostly asleep when Matt dropped a gentle kiss on her temple and whispered that he loved her. She mumbled that she loved him too before shifting her position and falling back asleep. 

Her bladder woke her up again half an hour later. While she was in the bathroom, she took a long shower. Surprisingly, she’d made it all the way to 32 weeks without having to go to a prenatal appointment alone. Matt had made every effort to trade shifts if the scheduling wouldn’t allow them to go on a day he had off. 

Once out of the shower, she checked her phone. There was a text from Matt: Let me know how it goes! Love you both [kissy face emoji] 

She smiled and replied that she would. He’d been so upset he had to miss today’s appointment. 

She made herself some breakfast, making sure to cook extra for Stella. Once it was ready, she brought it over to the adjacent townhouse and let herself in. 

“Sylvie is that you?” Stella called from upstairs.

“Yeah! I’ve got breakfast.”

A couple minutes later, Stella appeared in the dining room with Lizzie in her arms. She carefully placed Lizzie in her bouncer then gingerly sat in the chair next to her friend. “You’re my hero,” she said, taking a fork full of her omelet.

“I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to do this,” Sylvie said sadly, patting her swollen abdomen. “Little One isn’t quite so little these days. I feel bigger by the minute.”

Stella smiled knowingly. “I’ll definitely miss your cooking.”

“I’ll make extra while I still can. We can both stock up on freezer meals so we’re not stuck with pizzas and take out until we recover.”

“Kelly’s been talking about buying a smoker.”

“Really?” Sylvie asked, perking up. 

“Yeah. We couldn’t have one at the apartment for obvious reasons, but now we have a driveway of our own. We could store it in the garage when we weren’t using it.”

“I get the feeling we’d be having a lot of barbeque.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Stella teased.

“Just thinking ahead. I don’t know what we’re going to do once the baby comes. I’m not going to have the energy to cook all the time and, while it’s not that bad of a drive, my parents have never come to Chicago.”

“Have you thought about asking them?”

“I would feel bad. I don’t want them to feel obligated to be here.”

“Sylvie, Imma be real with you,” Stella said with a sigh. “This is more exhausting than even the worst shift. I would give anything for my mom to be here.” Tears pooled in her eyes and Sylvie reached over to put a hand on her leg. Stella put her hand on top of her friend’s. “I know - at least I think - it’s just the baby blues talking. I haven’t missed my mom this much since she died twenty years ago. I just keep thinking about how she would help so much if she were here because she went through it too, you know? And don’t get me wrong, Sylvie, you’ve been amazing bringing me food and watching Lizzie for a couple hours so I could take a nap. Kelly’s been good, doing more than his share when he’s not on shift, but it still feels like it’s been nonstop crying and changing diapers for two whole weeks. I feel stuck inside this house and I just want to get out, but it hurts to move. There’s so many people outside, too. People don’t give newborns the space they need. What if one of them has a cold and Lizzie gets sick?” 

Sylvie listened quietly while her friend rambled on about all of the things overwhelming her. At some point, she’d scooted her chair closer and wrapped her arms around Stella. 

Stella let the tears slip down her cheeks as she leaned into Sylvie’s comforting embrace. Soon, tiny kicks tapped against her ribs. Her hand drifted up to pat her friend’s stomach as she eventually sobered up and sat back upright. 

“How about this,” Sylvie suggested, “I have an appointment in a couple hours. You and Lizzie could come along then we could pick up some groceries and make lunch for 51, maybe meet my replacement. We’d only be gone for a few hours and probably the only people who will want to hold her are Herrmann and Boden, both of whom will understand if you’d prefer they didn’t.” Noticing the infant blinking up at her, she shifted her attention. “What do you think, Lizzie? Should we go out with Mommy? See Daddy at work?”

Stella took a minute to think about it. “Okay,” she said hesitantly. “Let’s do it. Can you handle Lizzie if she needs something? I just fed her before we came down.”

“Of course!”

Stella smiled her thanks and quickly finished her breakfast before going back upstairs for a shower.  
_____

“Hey,” Severide greeted the paramedics when they pulled back into the station. “How was your first call, Zi?”

She shrugged. “Pretty low-key, I guess. Nothing like some of the stories I heard about at the academy.”

Severide chuckled. “They like to tell those to scare you.”

Foster nodded. “Calls like the ones they tell you about don’t happen often, but you do need to be ready for them when they do. If you lose your focus, it gets dangerous.”

“Noted,” Zi replied. “I won’t let you down.”

“Come on, Zi, let’s finish inventory before we get called back out.”  
_____

“You have a different companion today,” Dr. Cameron remarked when she entered Sylvie’s exam room. “How are you, Stella?”

“Tired and sore, but good. Sylvie’s been bringing me food and watching Lizzie so I can have a little me time.” 

“I’m glad to hear it. Is Lizzie doing well at home?”

“She cries a lot, but it’s always for something I can solve. It’s stressful until I figure out what she wants.”

“That’ll come with time,” Dr. Cameron assured. “I remember the early days with my oldest. Many new parents are surprised at just how much their baby can cry.”

“I’m glad I’m getting a sample of it to prepare myself,” Sylvie chuckled.

“Good thing you said ‘prepare yourself’ and not ‘try it out,’ Sylvie,” Stella fired back. “There’s no backing out now!”

“I am living proof that that’s not true,” Sylvie countered. “There’s always adoption.”

Dr. Cameron chuckled as the friends bantered back and forth. She could see the familiar strain of the early days with a newborn on Stella’s face, but it was clear the two women were keeping each other in good spirits. She was always happy to see new moms with a strong support system.

She began to examine Sylvie while the three of them continued to chat. She felt around and determined that the baby was still breech, but assured Sylvie that there was plenty of time for this to change. Everything else was looking and sounding good, though. They’d examine again in two weeks.

With that, the women were on their way. They picked up the groceries they needed and were soon at the firehouse. 

The rigs were gone when they got there, which turned out to be a good thing. Lizzie started fussing as they were unloading the food onto the counter in the kitchen. Stella smiled apologetically at Sylvie, who shook her head as if to say no worries, and waved her friend off to take care of her baby.  
____

“Do long calls always come in right before lunch?” Zi asked facetiously on the way back to the firehouse. “I’m going to have to start carrying granola bars around.”

Foster chuckled, “Brett and I always kept some in the glove box. There’s probably still a few in there. You’re welcome to have one.”

“Nah, I’m good,” Zi replied. “We’ll be back to the firehouse soon enough.”  
There was a beat in the conversation as Zi stared pensively at the glove box. “What’s Brett like?”

Foster beamed. “Best paramedic in Chicago. Determined, smart, resourceful, and one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet.”

“So why’d she leave?”

“She and the Captain are starting a family. Those calls they tell you about at the academy when there’s active shooters and no police backup? Or the hostage situations?”

“Has she had some of those?”

“More than her fair share in the last decade.”

“So she and the Captain. . . our captain? Casey?”

“Mhm.”

“And since they’re on the same shift, she decided to leave to raise their kids?”

“Yeah,” Foster said, pulling into the bay. “Now, let’s do a quick restock and maybe someone will have lunch figured out by the time we’re done.”  
___

“See that, Lizzie?” Sylvie cooed, holding her in the control room so she could look to the apparatus floor. “Daddy’s back. This is where your mommy will be, too, when you start staying with me.” 

Lizzie’s big blue eyes blinked up at her as she suckled happily on her pacifier. Sylvie could hear the door from the app floor to the locker room opening and closing as people entered it to wash up.

“Hey, Sylvie?” Stella called from the kitchen.

Sylvie turned and started walking back to the common room. “Yeah?”

“Lasagna looks done. You want me to pull it out?” 

“Yes, please. By the time we get it cut up, there’s going to be a herd of hungry people in here.” Making sure she had a good hold on Lizzie, she went to the fridge to pull out the salad she’d made earlier. She sat it on the counter just as the baby started to fuss again. “Oof,” Sylvie said. “Smells like we have a dirty diaper.” 

“Her diaper bag is in Kelly’s office. I’ll wash my hands quick and go take care of her.”

Sylvie handed the baby off and finished cutting up the lasagna. She washed the knife right away and put it in the rack to dry. 

Just then, everyone started filtering in from the locker rooms and started chatting about how good it smelled and, once they noticed Sylvie, greeting her enthusiastically.

“Hey guys,” Sylvie greeted from her spot behind the counter. 

Casey approached his wife to give her a quick kiss. 

“Did you do all this?” Severide asked, gesturing to the food on the counter.

“Stella helped,” Sylvie replied. “I can’t really bend over very well. She’s in your office with Lizzie. She’ll be back soon.”

Severide’s face lit up as he thanked her, ducking out toward his office anyway. He wanted to greet his wife and baby before everyone else swarmed them.

“You two brought the baby?” Herrmann asked excitedly.

“For a short visit, at least,” Sylvie replied. 

“Brett!” Foster exclaimed from the rear of the group next to a young woman Sylvie assumed was her replacement. “We were just talking about you on the way back from Med.”

“Oh?”

“All good things, partner,” Foster assured. Then, remembering the new paramedic beside her. “Brett, this is Aziza Carson, my new partner. Zi, this is Sylvie Casey.”

“Nice to meet you,” Zi said, extending her hand.

“Likewise,” Sylvie replied as she took it and the two shook hands. 

Stella and Kelly reappeared with Lizzie, introducing her to the rest of the house. Herrmann, who had already wolfed down his plate, approached them. 

“Kidd, you want me to hold her so you and Severide can eat?”

“I don’t know, Herrmann,” Kidd said hesitantly. “She hasn’t really had exposure to strangers.”

“I can sit close,” he offered. “She’ll still be able to hear and see you.”

“Did your kids do okay like that?” she asked.

“Sometimes they still fussed a little, but they got over it soon enough.”

Stella thought about it, looking to her husband. 

“I’m sure she’ll be fine, Stella,” he said. “Herrmann’s not gonna hurt her.”

Stella sighed. If anyone knew their way around kids, it was Herrmann. “Okay,” she conceded. 

Herrmann carefully took the infant from her. Lizzie opened her eyes wide, staring at the new face. She stopped suckling her pacifier, but didn’t cry.

Stella breathed a sigh of relief and she and Kelly went to get their food. Herrmann didn’t follow them, but turned so they would be in the baby’s field of vision. “Hey, little one,” he rasped, gently bouncing her where he stood. She blinked at him and he started walking around the common room with her, letting her see all the new faces. 

He knew Stella and Kelly were watching him, and he smiled. It had been a long time since his kids were as new to the world as Lizzie, but he remembered those early days well. He and Cindy had been so nervous with their oldest son. With each of the next four kids, though, they became more relaxed. He only hoped that he could help Stella and Severide in their insecurities. He would do the same for the Caseys when their little one was born, though he knew the captain had had some parenting experience and Sylvie had watched her little sister, Amelia, from time to time. Maybe they wouldn’t be as nervous, but he knew having one of your own added a certain level of worry. 

Over the next hour, everyone ate their fill and slowly popped out of the common room to rest before the next call came in. Lizzie had drifted off to sleep in Herrmann’s arms, so he sat on the couch opposite Mouch instead of going for a nap.

Gallo and Ritter had volunteered to do the dishes since they’d been saved from cooking, so the ladies stayed at the smaller table after they’d finished eating. 

“So all three of you have worked on ambo?” Zi asked after yet another story.

“Yup,” Stella replied. “I only subbed in a couple of shifts when Sylvie’s partner was out for whatever reason, but we’ve had a lot of those in my time here.”

“We work well together,” Sylvie added. “You’re much more predictable than anyone they might have pulled from the floater pool.”

“That’s something to beware, Zi,” Foster said. “The floater pool.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Zi replied, “but two of my brothers are pretty unpredictable, so I think I can handle it.”

“How many brothers do you have?” Stella asked.

“Three. Only one sister.” 

“That’s a big family,” Sylvie commented.

“I thought only Herrmann had that many kids,” Foster joked.

“I can hear you!” Herrmann said, looking over his shoulder. 

“I often wish I had siblings,” Sylvie said. “I know I have a baby sister now, but there’s thirty years between us.”

“Wow, that’s a lot,” Zi commented. “Ari is two years older than me. Eli and Elisheba are two years younger, and Gabe is five years younger.” She opened her mouth to say more about them, but the bells went off, calling ambo and engine. “Nice to meet you, thanks for lunch,” she rushed, waving behind her as she and Foster jumped up to respond.

Herrmann quickly and carefully handed Lizzie, who’d been awakened by the bells and was starting to fuss, back to Stella. “Sorry,” he said, “duty calls.”

Stella bounced Lizzie softly, trying to soothe her. “Sshhhh, baby, it’s okay,” she cooed. “Mommy’s got you. It was just a loud noise.” She resituated the pacifier in her mouth, gently bouncing her until she quieted. To Sylvie, she said, “I’m going to see if Kelly’s done with his paperwork yet. I don’t think we should probably stay much longer.”

“Okay. I’ll be in Matt’s office whenever you’re ready.”  
_____

Movement caught Matt’s eye and he looked up from his report. “Hey beautiful,” he said, standing to greet his wife.

“Hi,” she whispered, melting into his embrace. As usual, their little one was quite active and Matt’s hand slid from her back to her stomach when he felt the little kicks against his midsection.

“Does it ever hurt you?” he asked quietly.

She nodded. “Whenever his or her foot makes contact with a bone or organ.”

Matt squatted down in front of her and kissed where their baby was kicking. “Now, Little One,” he said against her skin, “you need to be nice to Mommy. She’s doing so much for you and we haven’t even met you yet. 

Sylvie laughed at her husband’s antics and the baby became even more active inside of her.

Matt gave her butt a quick squeeze as he pushed himself back to his feet. Sylvie drifted over to his cot and lowered herself onto it. Matt sat beside her and wrapped his arm around her once more. She leaned into him and their free hands joined on top of her baby bump. 

“How’d the appointment go?”

“Dr. Cameron said everything looks good. Little one’s vitals are all in a good place and so are mine. He or she is still breech, but Dr. Cameron says that’s not uncommon at 32 weeks.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there.”

“You’ve been to the rest, Matt. It’s okay, really. We didn’t even do an ultrasound today.”

They fell into a companionable silence, just enjoying each other’s embrace. After a few minutes, a knock sounded at the door. Stella was there, holding a once-again sleeping Lizzie. “Ready to go home?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Sylvie said, shifting to push herself off the bed.

Matt, however, wasn’t about to let her. He jumped to his feet and held his hands out in front of him. Sylvie gratefully took them and let him pull her to her feet and into one last hug. They exchanged goodbyes and a kiss then Sylvie turned to follow Stella out the door.  
_________

17 July 2022 

“Are you sure you’re okay with her all day? I can still call in,” Stella asked, absently stroking her thumb against the side of her baby’s head as the infant suckled hungrily from her breast.

Sylvie smiled softly at her friend. “I think you’re going to have a harder time today than we will. She knows me. We’ll be just fine.”

Stella felt her eyes well up. She was ready to go back to work, but she wasn’t ready to leave her baby girl behind for a whole day. 

Sylvie pushed herself off of the doorframe of the nursery, crossing to her friend and gently laying a hand on her shoulder. Stella squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath, careful not to disturb the baby in her arms.

“Here,” Stella said, handing Sylvie the burp rag when Lizzie unlatched herself from feeding. “I should probably get ready. Don’t wanna be late.”

Sylvie laid the cloth over her shoulder then held her arms out for the infant. Stella gently handed her over. She refastened her bra and pushed herself out of the rocking chair, making her way to the bedroom. 

Stella rummaged through her closet, looking for her station gear. Kelly had suggested she set it out the night before, but Lizzie had taken forever to go to sleep and she forgot. Finally, she found one of her shirts in the back corner of her closet and tugged it off the hanger. She slipped it over her head, struggling to pull it over her postpartum stomach. She groaned. It was way too tight. She really needed to focus on losing the baby weight. “Sylvie!” she called.

Sylvie ducked into the bedroom, eyebrows raised.

“I’m stuck,” Stella grumbled. 

Sylvie chuckled. “Can I just set her on your bed?” she asked, nodding her head at the baby in her arms.

“Yeah. Just help, please?”

Sylvie carefully laid Lizzie in the middle of the king-sized bed before grabbing at the hem of Stella’s shirt and jerking it up over her head. Once it was over her head, Stella squatted so Sylvie could reach high enough to pull it the rest of the way off. 

“Thanks,” Stella sighed when she was finally free of the garment. “Guess I’m going to be a squad lieutenant today.”

“I can’t wait to hear what our husbands say about that,” Sylvie laughed, taking Lizzie back into her arms as Stella grabbed one of Kelly’s shirts from the closet and pulled it on instead. 

“Stella!” Kelly called from downstairs. “Come on, we’re gonna be late!”

“I’m comin’!” Stella yelled back, but she didn’t move for the door. Instead, she turned to her friend. “I don’t wanna go.”

“We’ll be fine,” Sylvie assured her. “Won’t we, Lizzie?” She patted her friend on the shoulder. “Come on, Stel, we’ll walk downstairs with you, let Lizzie say bye to Daddy and Uncle Matt.”

Stella sighed, dropping her shoulders, but turned for the door anyway. Sylvie followed her friend downstairs, watching carefully at the bottom to see how long it would take their men to realize Stella was wearing a squad shirt.

The men looked up when they walked into the kitchen. Kelly handed Stella her coffee thermos, a smirk dancing across his face. 

Matt’s eyebrows furrowed. “Uh, Kidd?”

“Guess you’ve finally come to your senses,” Kelly joked.

Stella lightly punched her husband. Turning to Matt, she explained, “My shirts don’t fit right now. Baby weight.”

Matt nodded his understanding. “We might have some extras hanging around the firehouse. We’ll check after roll call, but we need to get going or we’ll all be late.”

Stella reached out and lightly brushed Lizzie’s forehead. She leaned down and gently kissed her head. “Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”

Kelly took one of Lizzie’s tiny hands between his thumb and index finger, giving it a gentle squeeze. “See you tomorrow, baby girl,” he said. Then, to Sylvie, “Thanks for watching her.”

“You’re welcome,” she responded. 

Matt crossed to his wife and wrapped an arm around her, placing a kiss on her lips. “Let me know if you need anything,” he said.

She nodded. “Be safe. I love you.”

“Love you too,” he replied, placing another kiss on her temple.  
____

They all knew they had a busy day ahead when the first bells went off halfway through their morning meeting. Stella, especially, was grateful to have something to take her mind off of her baby at home.

On scene, the building was burning fast. Casey was quick to bark his orders: “Squad, check out the upper level. Gallo, Ritter, you two check out the basement. Kidd, you’re with me around back. We have five minutes tops. Let’s move!”

They all rushed into the flames, searching for anyone. Gallo and Ritter quickly cleared the basement before exiting the building. Kidd and Casey found an adult cornered in the kitchen and pulled her out. She was weakly gesturing toward the upstairs, worry in her eyes.

“We’ve got people up there,” Kidd assured her, but it didn’t help. The woman barely even looked at her. She just kept gesturing.

When they got outside, Kidd and Casey carried the woman over to the ambulance. 

“Squad out yet?” Casey asked.

“Haven’t seen them,” Foster replied.

Casey turned away to call them on the radio while Foster and Zi got to work. The woman was still very weak and had a lot of burns on her legs, but she struggled against them when they tried turning her away from the house. From behind her, Foster said, “Ma’am, I need you to sit still. We need to look you over.”

The woman didn’t even turn her head. In front of her, Zi was watching her face. She didn’t look like she was paying attention to Foster, even with the continued attempts. 

As Foster was getting more frustrated with the woman’s lack of compliance, Zi spoke up. “Foster, wait. I have an idea.” Foster quieted and watched her as she gently touched the woman’s shoulder and moved in directly in front of her. The woman looked at her, but was still glancing toward the house. Moving her hands while she spoke, Zi asked, “Can you hear me?”

The woman shook her head.

Simultaneously signing and speaking again, she asked, “Can you understand me?”

This time the woman nodded. Breathing a sigh of relief, Zi quit talking and started signing to her. After a minute, she yelled over her shoulder. “Captain! Her son is upstairs. No one else though.”

Casey nodded and talked into his radio. Capp replied that he and Cruz found him and were on their way out.

Zi heard the reply come over the radio and relayed the information to the woman. She then asked the woman her name and started signing to the woman, Jessa, what they were going to do to treat her wounds and that her son would be out soon.

Foster moved to take care of the boy, talking her way through what she was doing. Once Zi was done bandaging Jessa’s burns, she started signing what her partner was doing to treat the boy. He was still unconscious and Foster needed to intubate him. Zi told Jessa to hop in the back with her and that they were going to Med. Jessa asked her if she would stay at the hospital with her. Zi shook her head, but turned to Foster and, again signing while she spoke, asked if they could radio ahead for an interpreter to meet them at the hospital.

Foster nodded and called in to main that 61 was on their way with a young victim and would need an interpreter to meet them there.  
____

When everyone was back to the station and were eating lunch, Kidd, Foster, and Zi were sitting together in the middle of the long table. 

“You were awesome on that call, Zi,” Foster said. “I thought that woman was just ignoring me. I don’t think I’ve ever had a call where my patient was deaf. When did you learn sign language?”

“I grew up with it. My grandma is deaf and she lived with us. My whole family simcoms so nobody was left out of the conversation.”

From his spot beside Stella, Kelly asked, “Can’t deaf people just read lips?”

“Think it’s that easy, Lieutenant?” Zi asked.

“Sure, why not?” Severide asked.

Gallo added, “They grow up around English. It should be easy to understand.”

“Okay,” said Zi. “If you think it’s so easy, I’ll mouth something at you and you all tell me what I said.” A few more heads turned toward her and she mouthed something at each of them in succession. Most eyes went wide, eyebrows raised. When she’d finished mouthing at the last person, she asked, “Who wants to tell me what I said?”

Mouch was the first to speak up. “It kinda looked like you said eff you, but with the actual word.” 

Most heads nodded in agreement. Capp, however, disagreed. “I thought you said ‘I love you.’”

Herrmann voiced his agreement and Gallo and Ritter nodded along.

“So who got it right?” Ritter asked.

“None of you,” Zi said, a knowing smirk on her face. “It was ‘Fig Newton.’”

Each member reacted to being wrong then Gallo asked, “Isn’t it easier to learn to do that if you’re already deaf?”

Zi shrugged. “I don’t know. Grandma would often complain about being forced to speak when she was younger. She said she didn’t learn to sign until she moved out and discovered the Deaf community. But imagine trying to learn to speak when you can’t hear the sounds.”

Many heads nodded along to what she was saying. Herrmann chimed, “I hadn’t thought about that before.”

“Most people don’t,” Zi responded. 

“I know we don’t run into them often, but it’s good that we have you to communicate with them,” Casey said. 

“I’m glad you’re my partner,” Foster agreed. “Not even a month in and you’re already showing your special skills.”

Zi smiled. It’s nice to be at such a friendly house, she thought.  
____

04-05 September 2022

Over the next month and a half, it became easier for Stella to leave her baby while she went to work. As Sylvie got closer to her due date, Cindy took over the task. 

Originally due late August, Sylvie was ready to burst. For weeks, she’d been doing anything Dr. Cameron had told her might help to encourage labor. She was tired of the extra weight and hormones and she just wanted to meet their baby.

Matt’s construction gigs were starting to wind down, so he was home a lot more and graciously listened to Sylvie grumbling about how she was tired of being pregnant. He was excited to meet their baby too. At the beginning of August, he’d started driving to the firehouse separately from Kelly and Stella just in case Sylvie went into labor while he was there. He gave her lots of back massages and went on walks with her and got her anything she asked for.  
____

The first shift of September, Matt was sitting in his office after the morning officers’ meeting. Herrmann popped his head in. “Still no baby, eh Casey?”

Matt shook his head. “Doctor’s talking about inducing her if the baby doesn’t come this week.”

“Well we can’t wait to meet ‘em.”

Matt started to say something about appreciating how much help Cindy had been, but the bells went off, calling them to a house fire.  
____

After a relatively calm shift, Matt made his way home. He let himself in and could hear the shower running upstairs. Deciding a shower didn’t sound so bad, he quickly dropped his stuff and went upstairs to join her.

Outside of the bathroom, he heard her groan. “Sylvie?” he called over the water as he stepped inside. “Sylvie, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Sylvie gritted out. “Fine.”

Matt’s brows furrowed. She didn’t sound fine. He climbed into the shower behind her. 

“I think I might be in labor.”

“You - what?” Matt stuttered, gently turning her to face him. “Are you serious?”

She nodded. “I would have called you, but they didn’t start getting consistent until this morning.”

He beamed at her for a second before his eyes went wide, panicked. “Do we need to go? Do we have everything? Sylvie, we shouldn’t be in the shower. We should be on the road. It’s rush hour and -”

“Matt, baby,” she interrupted. “We’re okay. There’s still too much time in between. I thought we could finish our shower and eat some breakfast while we wait for rush hour to pass. Then we can see how close the contractions are. I don’t want to be stuck inside the hospital forever.”

Matt took a deep breath. “You’re sure?”

She nodded, wrapping her arms around him. “Positive.” 

He rested one hand on the underside of her baby bump, sliding his other arm around to her back. 

Her grip on him tightened as another contraction came on. Matt rubbed her back with one hand. She took deep breaths through it. It was more intense than the last one, but still manageable. 

When she loosened her grip again, Matt leaned down and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “And you’re sure we’re okay to stay here?” he asked.

“Just in case we’re not - you’ve delivered a baby before, right, Casey?”

“That’s it, Sylvie, we’re go-”

“Matt, really, I’m fine,” she cut him off with a soft laugh. “I was kidding.”

He shook his head at her. “Don’t scare me like that.”

“A person would think you’re the one giving birth for the first time. You’re so nervous!”

“I can’t believe you’re not!”

She smiled softly at him. Rather than answering, she turned to squirt some soap on her loofah and extended it toward him. “Help me please?” 

He returned her smile, taking the loofah and beginning to rub it over her. She turned to give him access to her back. “It’s not that I’m not nervous,” she said so softly Matt wasn’t sure he’d heard her. Then, a little louder, “I am nervous, but I’m trying to stay calm. It’s better for the baby.”

Matt finished washing her back and legs then stood again, wrapping his arms around her and dropped a kiss onto the soft spot of her neck. 

She snuggled backward into him - after a couple minutes, grabbing his arms and breathing through yet another contraction.

When that one had passed, Sylvie finished rinsing herself off and stepped out of the shower. Matt quickly took his shower then he too stepped out.  
____

Sylvie stood as long as she could stand it as they got dressed and ate breakfast. They walked around the house for a while afterward.

The morning had tired Sylvie out and her contractions were still almost half an hour apart. She decided to go take a nap. 

Matt cuddled up to her until she fell asleep. After that, he quietly slipped out of bed and started checking everything they were taking to the hospital. Satisfied when he crossed every item off of their list twice, he started loading it all into the back of their car, careful not to wake his sleeping wife. 

Once he’d double checked he had everything they’d need in the car, he slipped over to Kelly and Stella’s house, but stopped when he saw Kelly working in the garage. 

The squad lieutenant looked up from what he was doing with his car. “Hey man,” he greeted.

“I’m gonna be a dad,” Matt blurted.

“Take ya this long to figure it out?” Kelly joked.

“No, like, by tomorrow, I’m gonna be a dad,” Matt replied. “Sylvie’s in labor.”

“Then what the hell are you doing here?” Kelly asked, giving Matt a congratulatory smack on the shoulder.

Matt shrugged. “Sylvie says we don’t need to go yet. She’s sleeping right now.”

“You’ll let us know when you go?”

Matt nodded. “And we’ll message you when the baby comes.”

“If she’s anything like Stella, make sure you have lots of ice cubes handy. You’ll also want a giant thing of water and a straw.”

“Anything else?”

“Just follow her lead, man. And good luck.”

Matt thanked his friend and headed back to the house to grab another giant water bottle (he’d already packed 2) and check on Sylvie.  
___

About 4 in the afternoon, Sylvie’s contractions were finally down to about five minutes apart. 

Taking a couple more deep breaths after a contraction passed, Sylvie pushed herself off of the wall. “I think we should go now,” she said.

“Is there anything you want last minute?”

She shook her head. 

With that, the two were on their way to Med.  
___

As the hours passed, the contractions became more intense. Too late, Sylvie began wishing she had planned for an epidural.

“I’m so tired, Matt,” she said at 11 that night. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”

“Sylvie, baby,” he said soothingly, sitting on the bed beside her. “You’re the strongest woman I know. You can do this. I’m right here if you need anything.”

“I need this baby out,” she said. “I need this part to be over.”

He smiled sadly at her. “I wish there were more I could do for you.”  
___

Finally, just before one the next morning, Sylvie was told she was at 10 centimeters. “Do you feel like pushing?” the nurse asked.

She shook her head, gratefully accepting another ice cube from Matt.

“Okay, just tell us when you’re ready.”

Sylvie nodded her understanding. It was only a couple minutes later when, despite being totally exhausted just a couple moments before, she was totally energized. “I need to push,” she said.

Matt’s tired eyes widened, everything a blur as the nurses bustled into place. His baby was coming. Sylvie was having their baby. Their baby was coming! 

A sudden pain in his hand as Sylvie clenched it knocked him out of his nervous excitement. “You can do this, Sylvie,” he encouraged. 

Sylvie focused her entire self as she pushed and pushed and pushed. She only barely registered the voices around her. There was pressure then burning then a sliding sensation as their baby met the outside world for the very first time. 

Matt’s breath disappeared as their baby was guided from the birth canal. He subconsciously followed the nurse’s direction to cut his daughter’s umbilical cord. - His daughter. Sylvie’s daughter. Their daughter.

The nurses cleaned off the infant and a wail pierced the air as her airway was cleared.

Matt and Sylvie let out breaths they didn’t realize they’d been holding and their stares followed the baby as she was placed on Sylvie’s chest.

“She’s so beautiful,” Sylvie cooed, tears pricking her eyes.

“She looks like a tiny alien,” Matt chuckled. 

“Matthew Casey!” Sylvie gasped. 

“A beautiful, tiny alien,” he amended, placing a kiss on her temple and idly stroking the baby’s arm with his thumb. “You were fantastic, Sylvie.”

“Does baby girl have a name?” asked one of the nurses.

The couple quietly conversed the four girl or gender neutral names they’d chosen before Matt answered. “Katelin Sophia.” Then, turning back to his daughter, “Welcome to the world, Kate. Daddy already loves you so much, baby girl.”

He watched with elation as the nurses coached Sylvie how to breast feed their baby for the very first time. He was finally a father. This was the life he had yearned for since he was barely more than a kid himself. Tears of joy filled his eyes and he let them fall, totally unashamed. He was sure their life would become chaotic as soon as they brought their sweet little Kate home, but for now, it was perfect.


End file.
